At ITandOffice, we don't just sell refurbished enterprise IT equipment — we help IT professionals make smarter decisions. That's why we've been building free, open-source tools and publishing in-depth technical guides for the community.
Today, we want to highlight two resources we've recently released that have been getting great traction among IT managers, sysadmins, and home lab builders.
The IT TCO Calculator — Make Smarter Procurement Decisions
Buying new hardware always looks attractive on paper. But when you factor in maintenance contracts, energy costs, end-of-life support, and resale value — the real Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) often tells a very different story.
We built the IT TCO Calculator, an open-source tool hosted on GitHub, to help IT managers and procurement teams compare the true cost of new vs. refurbished enterprise hardware over a 3 to 5-year lifecycle.
- Calculates total ownership cost including acquisition, maintenance, and energy
- Compares new vs. refurbished hardware side-by-side
- Exports results as a CSV for budget reports
- 100% free and open-source — no signup, no paywall
Whether you're evaluating a new Cisco switch, a storage array, or a firewall refresh, this tool gives you the numbers you need to justify your decision to management.
Access the IT TCO Calculator on GitHub
How to Build a Pro-Grade Home Lab on a Budget
If you've been thinking about setting up a serious home lab without spending thousands of euros, we've got you covered. Our latest guide on dev.to walks you through exactly how to do it using refurbished enterprise gear — the same equipment we sell at ITandOffice.
- Choosing the right server, switch, and firewall for your use case
- Where to find reliable refurbished Cisco, HP, and Fortinet hardware
- How to avoid the most common mistakes home lab builders make
- Real configurations for VLAN segmentation, pfSense, and virtual environments
This is a hands-on, technical guide written for people who actually build and run infrastructure — not a beginner's overview.
Read the full Home Lab guide on dev.to
Why Refurbished Enterprise Gear Makes Sense
Both of these resources share the same core belief: enterprise-grade infrastructure doesn't have to cost enterprise-grade prices. Refurbished equipment from Cisco, HP, Juniper, and Fortinet delivers the same performance as new gear at a fraction of the cost — and with the right guidance, it's just as reliable.
At ITandOffice, we source, test, and certify refurbished hardware so you get professional-grade equipment with full confidence.